How to Connect Rain Barrels
If you want to save the rain water falling off your roof, a rain barrel is an easy weekend project. A 30 foot-by-40 foot roof will collect 700 gallons of water for every inch of rainfall it receives. The free water you harvest can be used to water your lawn or garden and can be put to use indoors for cleaning or laundry. If you live in an area that receives a lot of rain you may wish to have more than one rain barrel. Applying hoses to the overflow spigots on each rain barrel allows you to connect the barrels, helping water from from a full barrel into a secondary barrel while increasing your rainfall harvest. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Rain barrels
- Drill
- Plastic spigots
- Hose
- Anvil clippers
- Hose clamps
- Silicone sealant
- Rag
- Measuring tape
- Work gloves (optional)
Instructions
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1
Drill a hole 15/16 of an inch wide two inches down from the top of your rain barrel. This will be used as an overflow hole, to prevent your rain barrel from filling to capacity. By connecting several rain barrels together through the overflow hole, you'll be able to distribute water through a multi-bucket rain barrel system.
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2
Put away the drill bit and wipe out any plastic specks from the inside of the barrel using a rag.
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3
Screw a plastic spigot into the hole, using your hands. Notice when the threads begin to catch on the inside of the barrel. Apply a thin, even layer of silicone sealant to the threads that remain on the outside of the barrel, then tighten for several more rounds until the spigot feels secure.
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4
Drill holes in the same location on the other rain barrel. Add plastic spigots to that barrel in the same manner.
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5
Move the rain barrels to the area where you'll store them, arranging them in the order you intend to keep them. Using your tape measure, measure the space from one overflow spigot to the next.
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6
Cut lengths of plastic tubing to match the distance between spigots. Secure one end of the hose to one barrel's spigot and the other end to the other barrel. Use a hose clamp or similar device to fasten the hose to the rain barrel.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are connecting more that two rain barrels, you'll need to have two overflow holes with two spigots on every rain barrel except for the first and last in the group.
Full rain barrels can be quite heavy. Place them on a wooden or cinderblock platform to evenly distribute their weight.
